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Q. 1) A recurring pattern that is very evident in this book is the lack of trust and respect that Jeanette's father (Rex) has for doctors, police, and anyone with authority. We can also take in that he is not someone who likes being told what to do and would very much rather do whatever he wants.

Q. 3) The event of Jeanette's dress setting on fire and causing severe burns is a good look into what her life is like. This section of the book gives us character information on what the parents of Jeanette are like. Her parents give their kids a lot of free will and seem to be distant when it comes to the safety of their kids.

Q. 6) A rhetorical strategy used throughout this book is pathos (emotions). We see actions and decisions of characters that aren't usually normal be made normal by using a young and innocent Jeanette outlook on things. Actions like her father rushing her out of the hospital are made to look heroic and change our emotional thoughts of the character.

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"What could I do? I'd tried to help them countless times, but dad would insist they didn't need anything... They said that they were living the way they wanted to." (Jeanette 4)

Right from the start of the book we're given an idea of how the parents of Jeanette act and how it shaped Jeanette's life. Jeanette's father has a far fetched plan that is going to be good for the family, but at the same time is ignoring the future and well being of his kids. Jeanette's grandma is offering help and a place to stay for Rex and his family but he always turns the offer down, stating that he doesn't need anyone's help or insight. This choice to shut down the outside world causes his family to be on a constant move and never have a sense of home or wellbeing.

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Social class is definitely something that is evident in this book. We get to see in Jeanette's early life that her family struggles to find a place to call home. Jeanette and her family are broke and live their day to day lives like scavengers. They are constantly on the move, going from state to state, and home to home. This is because Rex believes that he can build a machine to find gold and make them rich, but in order to build it he has to find side jobs. These side jobs are mainly the reason that they are constantly on the move because Rex is always getting in trouble with people.

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1. I don't share many similarities with these characters except for one with Jeanette. That similarity would be that when I was a kid I too was very independent and I was able to do certain tasks on my own.

2. Jeanette's family is very unique and I can't think of a way that their family shares any similarities with mine.

3. I've noticed and admired that the people with less in their life, like money, family, happiness or whatever it may be, they always have the characteristic of being humble and having humility.

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Q. 1) When ever reading any piece of story the meaning will always be different. When rereading something you are going into it with a different new perspective than before.

Q. 2) Values always have an important effect on someone's perspective when reading or hearing about something. Somebody's personal experiences will always give someone a different outlook on the things in life.

Q. 3) People from different time periods have different values and perspectives than we do today.

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Q. 2) The economic conditions of the characters shape their entire story. We are able to see that the Walls family are forced to move from place to place trying to find a new place to stay and we can see how that affects the characters in the story. Rex is the main reason why the Walls family struggles, he is always fighting with whoever doesn't agree with him and that leaves his family in danger. Rex's struggle to keep a job affects the living situation for the family, they are forced to constantly move whenever their living situation is no longer viable. The most affected in the family are the kids. The family's constant life on the road doesn't allow the kids to grow up in a place to call home or even get to call people friends. The kids have to live in rundown homes that are good for any person to live in.

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When the kids are at their grandparents house we get to see just how harsh their living situation is like, "Erma allowed us only one bath a week in four inches of water." (Jeanette 140)

This living situation is probably the worst it has been for the kids, Erma is a cruel woman and shows little to no remorse for other people, even her own grandchildren. Erma is very cruel to the kids and the family doesn't have any money to move anywhere else.

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Race/Ethnicity

In this section of the book, race played an important role in changing the lives of the characters. Near the end of this chapter we get to see a really dark characteristic of Erma. An entire two or more pages show us that Erma is racist and that is conflicting with Jeanette's beliefs. While Erma is strongly racist, Jeanette believes that all people should be treated equally and that downgrading them is unfair. Erma and Jeanette get into a big argument and it is one of the main reasons that the Walls family is forced to move out of Erma's house.

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1. An experience that is relatable with me in this chapter was the argument and disagreement with a family member.

2. One of the only things that my family has with the Walls family is that we all don't always agree on the same beliefs.

3. Erma showed me in this chapter that someone can and will be extremely cruel to another person, sometimes even a family member.

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A good example of perspective is the one of how Jeanette forgives her father, "Do you think you could maybe stop drinking?" (Jeanette 116) If it were any other person, I believe that they would have cut off Rex from their lives, but it's a different situation with Jeanette. Rex isn't a good role model, he's an alcoholic and is very wrathful, even towards his own family, but Jeanette sees him as a hero.

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Health

There is a health concern with the walls family, physically yes, but more to do with their mental health. There is no doubt that everything they've been through as a family has affected them in one way or another, and we can see some of the damages through Rex. Rex has hurt his family with his drinking problem and his abusiveness, especially towards Rose. The main reason that the family can't heal from their mental wounds is because of their views of Rex. They see him as the hero of the family and as someone they need, and because they view him as that, they are more forgiving and forgetful whenever he falls back into alcohol or being abusive. This repetition of hurt and forgive has not allowed the family to heal and grow.

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1. The process of forgiving and forgetting is something that I do connect with, I want to forgive but I also have to learn from what happened.

2. Forgiving and learning from our past mistakes and looking for a different approach the next time we encounter the same issue again.

3. The perspective of someone near and loving to you can affect how well you can see their flaws.

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Q. 8) A good look is provided to the reader about the psychological state of Rose in this section. Rose's psychological state can be looked at as though see is stuck. We know that CPS forced Rose to get a job in order to better provide for her kids and the family, but that hasn't helped her change. Rose continues to spend her money on dumb and needless things and that leaves less money for the family. Rose's inability to grow out of her old ways has heavily hurt her family, most importantly her kids. Her kids are frustrated with Rose to the point that Jeanette is planning to run away.

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After the talk with the man from child welfare, Jeanette talks to her mom about it and we get to see her current psychological state. "A figure took shape in the middle of the board. It was a woman from the waist up, with her arms raised. Blue concentric circles appeared around the waist. The blue was water. Mom was painting a picture of a woman drowning in a stormy lake." (Jeanette 195) When Jeanette told her mom about the man from child welfare, Rose instantly sat down and started to paint on her canvas, as though she knew exactly what she wanted to paint. She knew what she wanted to paint because it was most likely how she was feeling in that very moment. The woman in the lake could very well be her, drowning in a lake with a chaotic storm in the background.

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1. This section of the book was very unique for the characters and I don't know that I can share any experiences with them.

2. In one way that the Walls family and my family have a similarity is the wanting to give an opinionated piece of advice for someones life situation. For example, when Jeanette tells her mother to leave Rex in order to help her self and the family because Rex's drunkenness and lack of a consistent job.

3. Something I learned from Jeanette that I haven't experienced, was the fear or knowledge that I could be taken away from my parents.

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Q. 3) The story of Jeannette Walls kept me very entertained and hooked. She did a great job conveying each family member's characteristics and allows us to get a very personal understanding of who they were. I personally really enjoyed how Jeannette made us view her father. We know Rex is a troubled person, he is stubborn, and a very hard drinker, but Jeannette does a good job of showing us his human side. By no means was a good person or even the best father, but because we go through this journey with the perspective of Jeannette, we start to feel compassionate for Rex, especially at the end of the memoir. The insane roller coaster of a story that the Walls family goes through was a major part of this story. Jeannette takes us through some of her family's craziest stories, like petting a cheetah or traveling to various different states. We also see how their living situation differs and changes throughout the book. One day could be spent living in a nice home with plenty of food and the next with a rundown home and scarce food. The choices of the adults also play a big factor in how they live. Many times when the family is lacking food or clothes, it's because Rex spent a majority of their money on booze or Rose spent it on whatever needless thing she wanted. I very much enjoyed this memoir and have to say it is the second best we've read so far.